


Charlie's plan

by Kirr



Category: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:48:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25259473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirr/pseuds/Kirr
Summary: Willy Wonka is in need of a professional tailor. The lack of well-made suits with luxurious fabrics is driving the world-famous chocolatier nuts and Charlie Bucket is getting a bit sick of it. Even though he finds it a bit vain - you didn't exactly need tailored suits, did you? Charlie sure didn't! - he sets out to find a tailor for his mentor. Everything to have the silly genius back to inventing new candies and flavours.And, well, if the new tailor happens to be a pretty brunette in her 30's, that's just a lucky coincidence, isn't it?
Relationships: Willy Wonka/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Charlie's plan

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! Thank you for reading this. I don't often write fanfiction, but I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory three times last week and now I'm extremely motivated, haha.  
> I'm not a native English speaker, so please correct me when I make mistakes! Also, I can tell you right away that I won't have a regular uploading schedule. I write when I'm able to, but it would be a shame to disappoint people if I break my promises. Sorry!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)

**Chapter one**

Charlie and his family had moved into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory about a year ago. Everything was just perfect - Charlie and his family gained a warm home and never had to eat cabbage soup ever again, and Willy Wonka had gained a family and an heir. They didn't want for anything anymore - or did they?

"I'd be better off wearing my gosh darn pajamas!" moaned Willy Wonka one afternoon, while he and Charlie walked towards the Nut Sorting Room. His rubber gloves creaked as he tried to straighten his waistcoat. The piece of clothing was crooked and terribly creased.   
"Ever since Doonda retired, my clothing has been anything but picture-pleasing perfect!" He exclaimed miserably. Even after a year of living in this man's factory, Charlie still didn't quite know how to deal with his mentor's dramatic antics.

"But, you have a new tailor now, don't you?" He asked carefully. This was the wrong thing to say - his mentor grunted angrily and seemingly tried to perforate the floor with his cane each step he took.

"Don't remind me of  _ that _ excuse of an Oompa Loompa," Willy huffed. "My point is, Doonda was the best tailor a man could ask for. Now that he's retired, I can't seem to find  _ anyone  _ who's able to fulfill my clothing needs. I'm an important business man, Charlie. I  _ need _ to look professional!"

Charlie wisely kept quiet about how Willy Wonka never left his factory anyway and really only saw Charlie, his family and his small army of Oompa Loompas. Maybe it would be better to change the subject.

"Willy, has the Squirrel problem been solved?" He asked. It seemed to work, for his mentor seemed to perk up immediately.

"Oh yes, Charlie! The Flea situation was real nasty, but I can proudly tell you that every li'l beasty is now squeaky clean!" Willy smiled broadly, showing off his perfect teeth.

"That's great!" Charlie smiled back, and the Tailor Problem seemed to be forgotten - for now, at least.

-

Meanwhile, Julia Meadows wasn’t having the best of luck. The thirty-something brunette was frantically trying to sew a sleeve onto a jacket, without spoiling the beautiful - and expensive!- fabrics. She had to do two more jackets, three pairs of trousers and five waistcoats before noon the next day. 

“Ow!”, she mumbled, and dropped everything she was holding to put her finger in her mouth. It would be truly disastrous to bleed on anything now - then she could throw away the entire garment! She checked her finger to see if she needed stitches. Luckily not, a bandage would do. 

While she took care of her hurt finger, Julia looked around the atelier. Rolls of fabric were all over the tables and even on the ground. She’d been working for Mr. Hastings a while now and the workload was worse than ever.    
There wasn’t much need for a tailor in their little town, as most men were industrial workers. Years ago, Mr. Hastings business had been booming, because he was the tailor for all factory workers of Mr. Wonka’s factory. Mr. Wonka had wanted every employee to have a fitted outfit, as he apparently cared deeply about appearances. Ever since the factory closed however, Mr. Hasting’s main source of income had disappeared and orders had come in very infrequently. This resulted in weeks of having nothing to do, to having a few days time for a ridiculously large order by some boring business man.    
In trying to keep his already few customers, Mr. Hastings set bizarrely high standards. Unfortunately, Mr. Hastings was getting older and so it was Julia who had to actually create and sew everything. 

The pay was abysmal, but Julia didn’t really have another choice. Tailoring was her passion, she would never want to do anything else. In her spare time, which was scarce, she would design the most beautiful suits, with expensive, fantastical fabrics and intricate patterns. She had notebooks full of these amazing designs and she dreamed that one day, she would be in a place where she could create all of them. 

Her hope began to dwindle, however, because Julia’s meagre savings were nowhere near enough to start her own shop and Mr. Hastings only wanted the most neutral colours and designs. 

“Miss Meadows, I don’t remember giving you a break. Have you perhaps forgotten about the deadline, tomorrow?” Mr. Hastings might be an old man, but sometimes there was an edge to his voice that frightened Julia. He held a lot of power over her and made sure she did not forget this. 

“Of course not, my apologies, Mr. Hastings,” she said quickly, and immediately turned back to work. Her boss grumbled something, clearly in a bad mood, but went back to his office to do God knows what. 

And Julia continued working on another bland, murky brown suit. 

-

Since he moved into the factory, Charlie didn’t go outside nearly as much as he did before. However, he found that it was very nice to wander the streets of his little town every now and again. Visiting shops, having a chat with the villagers - who all knew of him now. People were always curious about how it was to live in a big factory, with the Oompa Loompas and the eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. 

The tales of Veruca, Violet, Mike and Augustus were well-known across the world. Mrs. Beauregard had tried to sue Mr. Wonka, but as it turned out, Oompa Loompas were  _ very _ good lawyers if they wanted to be. 

There were multiple scientists that had gone on a search for Loompaland, but no one had found it yet. People didn’t even know where to start.

People were much nicer to him now, than one year ago. 

Today, Charlie had decided to wander the streets in the evening instead of at daytime. The little town was near deserted and a thin layer of snow muted all the few remaining noises. It felt peaceful. Quiet. Which were rare things inside the factory.    
He took a turn and stopped to look into the window of the candy shop where he’d bought the Wonka bar that had changed his life. It was dark inside, but the shop looked well taken care of. In his mind, he replayed the moments of finding the ticket, being bombarded by offers to buy his ticket and then running home. It felt both like yesterday and like years ago. 

Charlie smiled wanly and continued to wander. 

How strange, he thought, the building two doors down from the candy shop still had the lights on. He stopped to take a peek. 

A.J. Hastings Tailored suits, the sign read. Inside, he could see a young woman, bent over her work station. Frowning, she operated a sewing machine. She looked exhausted. Was she a Hastings as well? Charlie recognized the shop as one who’d been here for years - probably since before he’d been born. Maybe she was a daughter of A.J. Hastings? He’d seen the old man a few times. The man hadn’t looked very friendly and oddly enough, his own clothing hadn’t seem to fit him very well. 

Suddenly, the woman looked up and stared him straight in the eye. Charlie blushed, but waved. At first, she didn’t react, but then the corners of her mouth turned up slightly and she nodded. Then she went back to work. 

Feeling like a peeping Tom, Charlie quickly continued walking. It was getting quite late anyway, and his parents were strict with his curfew. After turning a few corners, Charlie took one last look at the moon, and then slipped back inside the safe walls of the factory. 

Home. 


End file.
